Can Rupert Murdoch Crush ESPN Like Fox Did CNN?

Don't buy the soft talk from News Corp. It's out to annihilate ESPN.

Back in the day, CNN was the go-to place for Breaking News. James Earl Jones, brother! But that's gone. There's no question Murdoch saw this trend developing.

While you can tout Breaking News like most organizations do, you can no longer -- thanks to the immediacy of Twitter and other platforms -- build a brand image around it. CNN had/has nothing but this to attract eyeballs and, now, it's gone.

Fox News -- love them or hate them -- came in and completely disrupted the cable news model. It opened the door for MSNBC, which leaves CNN struggling to stay ahead of CNBC ratings-wise in some time slots. CNBC, a relative niche network, should not be coming anywhere near CNN in the numbers.

While I don't expect such a swift downfall for ESPN, keep your eyes open. The suits at Disney will.

I have been bullish NWSA for months now. Fantastic stock to own given all of the moves Murdoch has made, including the sports push and plan to spin-off publishing by summer. And NWSA smashed its 52-week high today crossing the $30 mark.

The beauty of the News Corp story - and don't get me wrong, Disney, Comcast and CBS, among others are all worthy competitors - is that it only slightly involves names such as Netflix ( NFLX) and Apple ( AAPL). These companies -- in different ways -- play roles in the narrative, but the old guard media still holds the cards. They own and control the most desirable premium content, namely sports - the ultimate, last bastion of appointment viewing.

Murdoch didn't purchase a stake in (with plans to buy more) the YES network (Yankees Sports and Entertainment) for nothing. He hasn't been gobbling up regional and international entities and sports rights for nothing. And he's not anywhere near finished. He's empire building. And he's absolutely doing it with the not-so-long-term vision of annihilating ESPN.

In some ways, ESPN is ripe for the picking. Later this week and next, I will get into reasons why ESPN is vulnerable and offer ideas of different directions News Corp might take its forthcoming national sports network.

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